


Through the Lens

by letsrunawaytogether



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: M/M, Photographer AU, Slow Build, could be long, eventual friendship to romance, other ships mentions/involved, slow progression, will include other characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-26
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-17 09:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4661031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letsrunawaytogether/pseuds/letsrunawaytogether
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was simple: create a collage of photos of a subject doing everyday things. The catch? The subject of the collage had to be somebody the photographer had never met before. A complete stranger. PJ doesn't expect to get a lot out of the project; it's only for three weeks. He might make a new friend, but nothing more, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"So out of the vast sea of possible subjects who would absolutely die to be a part of a one-on-one project with you, you have chosen me."

"Erm... yes, problem?"

"I'm kind of skeptical. I highly doubt you're oblivious to the clans of giggling girls around campus who enjoy staring at you the moment you're in sight. Hell there's even the occasional boy that does it. Plenty of people would be willing to do this, ya know, since plenty of those same people are head over heels for you."

PJ scratches the back of his neck, his fingers lightly scraping his camera strap. "Yeah, I do." He's pretty aware of how apparently popular he is amongst the girls here. They most likely hope that they are the subject of many of his random photos. He carries his camera everywhere, always slung around his neck by the new strap he got that should last longer than his previous one. He can't help taking pictures so often; he's a photographer though. What d'you expect?

"And yet you pick me."

"Is that a bad thing... uh-"

"Chris. Chris Kendall."

"Right, yes, sorry Chris," he says quickly, embarrassed at how easily he had forgotten the name. Can't blame him really. After all, the two of them had only met a couple of minutes ago when the curly haired boy had approached Chris, who'd been sitting by himself on a bench near the huge fountain. "It's just that the project- well, the collage- is supposed to be about an individual the photographer hasn't met. They're supposed to be strangers."

He had already explained the project to Chris after he had introduced himself. The teacher of his photography class, Miss Fletcher, had assigned this project for fun. It was incredibly simple: create a collage of photos of a subject doing everyday things. In fact, they could just be doing anything they wanted. Whether it was reading a book in a vacant little corner of the library or skateboarding down one of the rails in the large courtyard, the subject could be doing whatever they wished. The only catch was that the subject of the collage had to be somebody the photographer had never met before. A complete stranger. Now that PJ thinks about it, it's possible that Miss Fletcher made that requirement just so that her students would make a new friend. Practically the whole class is comprised of shy or quiet photographers who mostly kept to themselves unless they talked to their own small ring of friends, so she probably saw the assignment as an opportunity to help them out.

"Yes don't worry, I understand that part. I'm still incredibly baffled that you picked me, but clearly you don't even know why you did either. I'm just gonna make this easier for the both of us and say yes, I will be the subject of your collage."

PJ smiles at that, breaking eye contact with Chris briefly to glance down at the camera hanging around his neck. It's a little habit of his to duck his head like this. "Thanks. I hope you don't mind me taking pictures of you for three whole weeks. This project could take forever."

"Not if you just snap a pic of me every single minute. Although we want this to be a high quality jumble of random snapshots and be the best in your class."

"True. To get some really good shots, I'll have to follow you around a lot so, uh, I hope you don't mind."

"That won't be an issue. It's not like I have any buddies of my own to talk to twenty four seven. Hmmm, you might've picked a good guy for this actually. There'll be no disturbances from any 'friends' of mine so you can take a picture of me any time you want." Chris stands up, lifting his satchel and putting its long strap on his shoulder. He holds his hand out in front of him. "Nice meetin' ya, PJ. I'll meet you here again tomorrow once classes are done. Then we can get started on the project. I've gotta get started on a lot of homework now so we'll start the project in the afternoon."

"Alright." He nods and shakes Chris' hand. "Looking forward to it. See you tomorrow."

Chris waves at him a little before turning and walking down the path back to the boy's dorm, hands shoved into his pockets. From PJ's view, this would make a good shot. The clear sky behind the buildings of the campus is a pretty shade of baby blue and makes the background for a possible photo even better. His current view of the other boy's back as he gets further and further away makes him feel like he's losing the chance for a good starting photo for the collage, so he quickly grabs his camera and looks through the lens, trying to get enough of the beautiful background into the image with Chris at the center of it. He snaps the picture, and once he looks at the image, PJ has to say that he's looking forward to the project if that means he can get more photos like this.


	2. Chapter 2

The library's a little more vacant than yesterday, only a little over ten students inside currently searching for a specific book for their English reports or sitting at one of the long tables with their faces buried in a captivating story. Normally there were tons of people here, either to read or to talk quietly to their friends, but many of them are most likely preoccupied with other projects in their classes. At least this meant there's little to no chance of anybody walking into a shot on accident. 

The two boys are in a corner of the library that is partially hidden by bookshelves. The shelves surround them, leaving only a small gap that's behind where PJ's currently standing as he fiddles with the settings of his digital camera. In front of him is Chris, who's sitting at the small table facing the photographer. Chris goes through the small pile of books that PJ had laid out on the table, and his face scrunches up in distate as he skims through some of them. "PJ, why do I have to look at these ones?" He only has to pose with one book in his hand. The other's are simply for decoration.

PJ glances up at him and says, "What d'you mean? They're only books, Chris. You're gonna be looking at one when I take a picture."

"But they're just _so boring_. And _not my type_."

"It's not like you're _actually_ going to read them." He rolls his eyes when the other boy groans and falls forward, his forehead hitting the tabletop with a light thunk. "Well, what kind of books would you want?"

"Lemme find some!" Chris hops up and leaves for another part of the library. When he's gone, PJ realizes that maybe it is a good idea for the other boy to get books that he actually likes for the photo. The ones that PJ had picked out were all random. He hadn't given much thought to what they would imply (people would assume that Chris actually reads books of those genres even though he himself had said they're 'not his type'), and now that he thinks about it, the whole act wouldn't be natural. He'd be (kind of) forcing Chris to do something only for the sake of a picture. Sure, the other boy hadn't complained about that specifically, but if they were to look at the image later, they'd both know something was off about it.

PJ's surprised that he didn't even consider any of this when they had first chosen the library for a good picture. Maybe it's because his mind's more on making progress with the collage. He's probably missing the real point of the project, which is to meet someone new and make a friend. Miss Fletcher would tell him the same thing he's thinking now: _have fun with it_. Thing is, it'd be easier to do that if he were working with a friend. Perhaps he and Chris should start hanging out so that they'll ease up around each other and get more out of the project. At least that way the photo ops will feel real and come more naturally.

The subject of his collage reenters the private area and places his handpicked books and graphic novels on the table. "Now these are my kinds of books! I'll actually like reading these. Now it'll really look like I'm into it."

"Deadpool, Fables, Tank Girl, Scott Pilgrim...?" PJ reads some of the titles and gives Chris a questioning look.

"What? Don't tell me you've never even looked at any of these before!"

"I, uh... No, I haven't. I mean sure I've heard of them but I've never really read them. Maybe a little bit of 'Fables' but I didn't finish."

Chris scoffs in disbelief. "You're joking. You just gotta be. After we get this tiny photo op done with, you're takin' some of these out and you're gonna read em'!"

"I guess I could finish the book I left off on in Fables?" PJ considers this but glances down at his camera and remembers why they're really here. "Wait, wait, we're supposed to be taking photos for a collage. We can discuss this apparent dilemma later."

"We'd better. You must be _really_ boring or something if you haven't even looked at any of these. Or you must've been living under a rock." Chris takes a seat at the table and picks the book he'll pose with. "Feel free to take that picture any time. I'm gonna pick up where I left off in this one." With both elbows on the table, he ducks his head and resumes reading.

PJ nods at him and gets his camera ready, lifting it to his face and focusing on the other boy. A couple minutes pass, and it's clear to him that Chris is pretty invested in what he's reading right now, all of his attention on the book and practically ignoring PJ's existence or forgetting he's even there. The photographer of the duo moves around a little, trying to find a more satisfying angle of the scene. Luckily his subject is wrapped up in his story, so his movements won't bother him.

He decides to try a lower angle and crouches a little so that he's eye level with Chris. Right after his camera focuses on the other boy, Chris grins and bursts out laughing as loudly as he can manage in the quiet setting. Thankfully they're far enough from the other students and the librarian so that he doesn't disturb anybody. From his position, PJ's able to capture the moment perfectly, the sound of the snap of his camera covered by Chris' laughter. He doesn't move his camera away from the scene just yet, and he gets another good photo when Chris looks up and beams directly at the camera.

"Let me see em'!" Chris comes over and takes the camera out of PJ's hands, taking a good look at the two shots. "Oooh these are great! Keep taking quality pics like this and I might actually start to understand why people would want their pictures taken by you."

PJ scratches the back fo his neck, slightly confused at the statement. "Uh... thanks?"

"Believe it or not, that was indeed a compliment. Relax Peej!" He thwacks PJ in the shoulder with his book. "But I think that the one with me looking at the book would be better for the collage. It doesn't look like I'm posing for the picture like the second one."

"Yeah, you've got a point."

"Do whatever you want with the second pic though. That's probably one of the few pictures of me that I actually like, but it's _your_ camera." Chris starts piling up the books, putting them in separate piles based on who picked them out. "We should go put these back. You're taking the 'Fables' one outta here though!"

"Fine, if it'll help you sleep at night," PJ responds, hitting the top of Chris' head with the book as payback for smacking his shoulder a second ago. "C'mon, let's go."

* * *

"Hey, so uh, I've been thinking, and I figured that this whole project will be a lot easier if we were more comfortable around each other," PJ says as they walk through the enormous courtyard, heading for the cafeteria for some lunch.

"That's understandable. Although you could've just phrased that as, 'if we were _friend_ '."

"Yeah. Yeah that's what I meant. But I don't want to make it seem like it's solely for the project though! That would just make the whole thing seem-"

"-fake? Yes it would be. But it'll be fun, right? That's the entire point of the assignment in the first place isn't it? I know Miss Fletcher, PJ, and she's definitely the type of person to do that."

He's not going to pry and ask how he knows her, so instead he says, "Well, then that means you see where I'm coming from."

"Yup. I'm onboard with some one-on-one time with you so that you can take random pictures of me on a daily basis no matter how ugly they might end up being. What do you think we should do?"

"We'll discuss it over lunch. Like you said, one-on-one, we'll get to know each other, share our interests, talk about our favorite shows or books and stuff."

"You make this sound like a date, y'know."

"Oh you _wish_."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I intended on publishing this yesterday but got preoccupied with leftover summer work. I'll be busy the next few days too so I'll probably end up updating next week.  
> But anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter (even though the romance hasn't even started yet). It's gonna take some time for the ship to get started, but I hope you can stick around for the long ride. I'll be starting an outline so that I can keep up with this story and update at a regular basis.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, how'd things go yesterday on your, as you prefer to call it, 'get together'?" Sophie asks while she and PJ doodle in a shared, spare notebook on one of the tables outside of the library. Chris had texted him earlier to inform him that he would be unavailable for photos today since he'd be taking care of his roommate who had gotten sick, allergies perhaps. Apparently the guy didn't want to get his best friend sick and only wanted Chris to take care of him while he's trapped in his room. PJ thinks that maybe he's just using it as an excuse to have some time away from the awkward photographer though.

Now he's spending his free time doodling with Sophie again, something they do rather often. They'll converse about how their day is going and usually work on homework, if their creative minds don't distract them. "Overall, I think things went... okay. Chris and I met up a little later than before but we still got three more photos. Unfortunately, when I checked them out again in my room last night, they just felt really _off_."

"Fake?"

"Precisely."

She sighs, leaning back from her sketch of a cute little snail surrounded by a bunch of pins. She folds her hands in her lap and looks at PJ expectantly, ready for the question she's been anticipating for the past three days since his project began. "Go ahead."

"What?"

"Ask me."

He raises an eyebrow at her, clearly lost. PJ sets his pencil down and says, "I have no idea what you think I'm supposed to ask."

"You're going to ask me how to befriend Christopher Kendall. Obviously, your mop of curly hair, sharp green eyes, handsome face, and- well, basically, your boyish charm hasn't worked on him. It definitely did for a whole lot of us, let me tell you."

"Okay yeah uh, I don't think using my," he puts his hands up, adding air quotes, "'boyish charm' would be a good way to start a friendship. In fact, I don't think I even have a 'boyish charm'." Sophie rolls her eyes when he uses air quotes again. "What, do I seriously have charm?"

"Yes you do, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is to just let things develop naturally. Don't be too soft about it like when you're interacting with a load of other people and wait for him to make the first move to get things started. But that also means don't be pushy. In my opinion, if you showed off your dorkier qualities, maybe he'd open up a little more. Your somewhat outlandish and kooky side is pretty hilarious and fun to be around, whether you believe it or not."

Not a lot of people really knew about that part of PJ's head. Most of those who are a fan of him or even fawn over him whenever he's around don't have a clue about just how odd PJ's imagination truly is. He's had a rather colorful mind since childhood, at this point having a vast, library worth of creatures and characters stored in his mind. If Chris learned about all of the oddities that occupied his massive brain, PJ's sure he'd be freaked out. Of course, it's not like he'd just show him every single creation he's ever made in one sitting. That would most definitely drive the guy away, or at least make him less likely to speak to PJ about anything besides the project and immediately want to cut any ties with him upon the completion of the collage.

PJ's probably exaggerated that but still, he's hesitant to show the wild world in his head to Chris. Maybe after they've established a friendship he'll slowly reveal some of his monsters to him. For now, he just has to relax and act natural.

"Who knows, maybe Chris can identify with the dorkier you. Maybe he's weirder than you are. I wouldn't know. I personally haven't interacted with him that much before. He's quiet in the two classes I have with him. He's probably not like that around people he's comfortable with, kinda like you."

"Well, he's not that reserved around me. He's kind of wacky sometimes now that I think about it. Not too much but enough for him to crack a real smile."

"Hey that's just like you when I first met you!" Sophie responds with mock surprise, lightly shoving PJ. "He might be warming up to you. Maybe you could slowly show him your weird side. You could make some real progress then." She pauses for a second. "You know, if you really want some quality advice about it, why don't you ask somebody who has a really good buddy of his own?"

PJ has a feeling he knows who she's referring to, but he asks anyway. "Who exactly are you speaking of?"

* * *

"But it's Tuesday!" The currently crazed boy says and he paces back and forth around the room, holding his cellphone to his ear with one hand while the other is on his hip. From his place on his bed, PJ looks up from his book at the source of the sudden outburst. "Yeah I know you're sick, but c'mon, I can just head over there and do it if you don't even wanna get outta bed!" There's a brief pause, and PJ can just barely hear the loud coughing and hacking from the phone despite being a few feet away. "Actually, I think I might go there anyway, since you're literally right next door."

"Maybe you can skip out on it this time?" PJ suggests as he watches his roommate rummage through one of his bags to fish out his toothbrush.

He receives an incredulous look that screams, _I can't believe you just said that to me_. "It's Tuesday, and you know what that means."

"But you do it with each other all the time. Seriously, you do. You brought me with you that one time just because you both wanted to make sure no one else came in and interrupted your, uh, 'private time'."

"Toothsday is a very special occasion for us!"

PJ folds the corner of his current page and leaves the _Fables_ book on his pillow before snatching the green toothbrush out of his friend's hand. "Jack, just leave 'im be. You know fully well that Dean just doesn't want to get you sick. Considering how you're both practically attached to each other's hips twenty four seven outside of classes, you'd get ill pretty fast. And besides, you guys can always make up this one time by doing it three more times instead of two after he gets better."

He's got a point (one that Dean had already relayed to Jack a few seconds ago), but Jack's not willing to admit it. His hand just barely moves in a feeble attempt to snatch the toothbrush back, and PJ steps away and puts it behind his back. Jack shakes his head in mock disgust. "Can't believe you're doing this to me Peej."

PJ cards his hand through his hair and sighs. When it comes to the duo spending time together, Jack gets ridiculously stubborn. Sometimes it gets on the photographer's nerves, but he does find it rather endearing too, since it's pretty clear that Jack really cherishes his friendship with the other boy. "You and Dean brush your teeth together everyday. Not judging you for the quirky activities you participate in with each other, but sometimes it's got people talking."

"Well, tooth brushing is a very important and intimate matter, PJ!" Jack says indignantly.

"'Brushing your teeth' sounds a little better."

"Don't correct me okay Wiggles. Like I said, tooth brushing is a very serious tradition and I do _not _want to do it without Dean."__

"C'mon Jack, just leave him to recover. We both know that he won't be sick forever, and once he's better, things'll go right back to normal and you two can do everything together like you always do. You know that, and so does Dean, which is why he'd rather get better and hang out with you completely healthy than infect you and be in the same position he's in now. So leave him be, okay? He wouldn't want to get you sick too.

Jack taps the 'speakerphone' button on his screen and says, "Sorry Dean, I had to chat with PJ since he stole my favorite toothbrush and refuses to hand it back to me, but he's convinced me to separate from you just this once for this occasion. You win this time."

"You make it sound like I haven't won before," Dean replies, his voice now loud enough for PJ to hear. He blows his nose after going through a short but harsh coughing fit.

"Hope you're doin' okay," PJ says loud enough for Dean to hear him.

"Thanks Peej. Wait a second, am I on speaker? Jack, did you really put me on speaker?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sick! I don't want PJ hearing me when I'm dying over here; it's just embarrassing!"

"And you two shooing everybody away from the bathroom just so that you're alone together when brush your teeth isn't?"

"Nah at this point everyone should know what we do in there."

"I'm pretty sure some people have a different idea of what you do in there."

"Hey, don't make fun of Toothsday! And Jack, I promise we'll make up for this if you promise to stay away until I'm completely healthy again alright? Just keep your arse away from me 'til I'm fine."

"Okay, I promise. Now I'll leave you to do whatever it is you're doing in there, and I'll go brush my teeth by myself. I'd bring PJ but he seems to really like that book of his and he's already brushed his teeth a few minutes ago." PJ hands Jack his toothbrush and settles back on his bed, reading his book again as Jack bickers with Dean for a little longer. To PJ (and a number of other people), the two boys sound like a married couple, and this time PJ can't even hear what Dean's saying.

Sophie's suggestion pops into his head, and he wonders if he really should ask Jack for advice right now. He's starting to grow hesitant about it. He'd been holding off on inquiring Jack for the last hour since they returned to their dorm, preferring to keep his head buried in _Fables_ until he mustered enough courage to ask him. Now that he finally can, PJ doesn't even think he wants to. After all, he can figure out how to properly talk to Chris on his own, can't he? Maybe he's just making this whole 'befriending Chris Kendall' thing harder than it really is, and he's over complicating it the more he thinks about it. The photo op at the library went a lot smoother compared to the last three days, and he can't figure out why. Perhaps he really should just act natural and see where things go from there.

"Yeah PJ?" Jack asks, his phone now in his pocket. His hand is on the doorknob, and PJ hadn't realized he called out to him just when he was about to leave.

"Uh..." PJ pushes his question back down his throat when he almost blurts it out. "Remember to keep your word to Dean."

"I'll remember! You must really not trust me on this do you? I'll be a good best friend and stay away from his room. Don't you worry your curly little head about it." He exits the room, and when the door shuts behind him, PJ sighs.

He'll see how things go tomorrow. He could bring up _Fables_ to Chris now that he's started reading it again. It's a good story so far. Maybe instead of Jack bursting into the room next door, it should be PJ. After all, Chris _is_ Dean's roommate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait. It's almost a month since school started, and I have been extremely busy (busier than I've ever been honestly). I've had more homework than I would've expected, and marching band's been taking up my Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights along with my _entire_ Saturday, so Sunday's are really the only days I'm completely free to write (well after I get through all the homework). I'm hoping to write as much as I can but my updates will probably be slower. This chapter at least was slightly longer than the last one.  
>  Well now Jack, Dean, and Sophie have joined the story. I'll be introducing more characters/YouTubers later on, but I'll do my best to get the plot to progress while adding in a few more cameos/appearances since some of the YouTubers I have in mind will appear more than once.  
> I'm glad I finally got to update. I'll try to add another chapter in October, and hopefully it won't take another long wait.


End file.
